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Sagada: What to wear?

Considering what to wear is probably the most important thing in Sagada. You can’t possibly enjoy each of the activities if you are not warm and comfortable. Here’s a list of things to keep in mind so that you can pack for your trip soon.

Trekking

You will still end up doing a lot of trekking even if you stuck with only the simplest tours so it’s best to be dressed for that. Jogging pants, loose pants, walking shorts and leggings will do. It’s smart to bring a light jacket. Choose something you can easily wear and take off so that you wouldn’t have no problems when you feel a bit cold or when you are starting to sweat.

Spelunking

A pair of jogging pants that can be converted into walking shorts is your best bet in the caves. It may not be as important if you are planning to use the short route (Sumaguing) which would take about an hour. If you choose the cave connection tour, it would be smart to go out of your way to dress for it. Other useful accessories include gloves, rash guard and aqua shoes. The gloves works like a charm if you need to do some rappelling and partly it is also for the guano (not that it would help with the other parts of your body). The rash guard and aqua shoes is made for water use so it’s perfect for caving even if you got yourself wet.

Cold mornings/evenings

For people from the lowlands like me, Sagada gets pretty cold in the morning and in the evening. It would take more than just your usual jacket over a shirt to be warm. You would really need 2 or 3 layers of clothing to get by. Maybe you can even have as much as 4 layers if you resort to shirts you often wear in Manila. You can make your life easier by packing long sleeved shirts, thermal shirts and leggings that you can wear underneath. Bonnets, mufflers, mittens and thick jackets can be used especially around February which is Sagada’s coldest.

Casual wear

For strolling at around lunchtime, I’ve seen people managing quite well in shirts and shorts but it would be better to stick with long pants and long-sleeved shirts. This is so you wouldn’t have to worry too much about sunburn and only put sunblock on areas that are exposed. Even walking around the town proper is a bit tiring because of the slopes so sometimes you start cold and realize that you are sweating once you get to your destination.

Bus ride

I know it’s weird that here we have air conditioning for buses but it gets weirder when it gets colder than Baguio. Things can get tricky because buses are never consistent. It’s best if your jacket, muffler or anything you can wrap around your neck is just in your hand carried bag. There are also certain stopovers when you’d wish you just stayed on the bus but if you have your jacket and mittens on hand, then you can do some stretching without having to worry about the cold.